Helpful Tips for Contacting Employers during the Application Process

As you apply for jobs, you want to be aggressive and make sure that a company knows that you take initiative and that you really want to work for that company. On the other hand, contacting employers can seem off putting if you don’t do it appropriately. What is the appropriate way to contact employers? Here are some helpful tips to consider.

Referrals

One of the best ways to get your foot in the door with a company and open up the lines of communication is to get referrals. Check your network to find out if you know anyone in the company. LinkedIn is a great resource to find friends and family, people from your alma mater, former colleagues and co-workers, and others that you may know in the company that can recommend you to hiring managers and help you get the in that you need to get the job.

Phone Calls

Most job postings will specifically say that they don’t want any phone calls for the job; however, if there is a company that you would like to work for that is not currently hiring, you could contact the human resources department to find out if there will be any job openings in your field in the near future. Ask them about the types of things that they look for in the people that they hire, so you can be better prepared when they are ready to hire.

Email

When you send an email with your resume, you should provide a short introduction about yourself and say why you’re writing the email. You should use short paragraphs with 1 point in each one. Don’t leave the subject line blank, and create an e-signature to put at the bottom. It should include your name and contact information, such as an email address and cell phone number. If you haven’t heard back from the company after the hiring period has closed, you may want to send a follow-up email with your resume and say that you’re checking to make sure that they received your first email, because you’re still interested in the position. You shouldn’t get in the habit of following up more often than that.

Informational Interviews

Informational interviews are used to meet with a person from a company that you would like to work for or someone who holds the position that you want to have. You can contact that person and ask for the opportunity to meet with him or her for 15-30 minutes to ask some questions about the job and company. Do your research, so you can spend that time digging into questions about that particular job, the experience necessary, and what you can do to make yourself more marketable for that position.

Thank You Letters

After an interview, you should send a handwritten thank you letter. Address it professionally and reiterate your interest in the position. You should restate points from the interview to help yourself stick out, too.

When you’re on the hunt for a job, you should look for opportunities to contact employers, but you don’t want to overdo it and annoy the company to the point that they’ll move onto other candidates. Use these tips to contact employers appropriately during the application process to help you get a job.

Resume.com

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